as a boy, he always showed strong abilities in math and science. he was even the science student of the year at the university of illinois. but after his adoptive mother passed away, ellis oon dropped t of school and headed to california with little money in his pocket. his skills were quickly recognized. he helped build the first ibm compatible mainframe system. in 1977, he and two of his colleagues broke off and started a company that would eventually become oracle. ellison took the company public in 1986, already a billion-dollar enterprise. now a $100 billion company, his mystique has grown as a billionaire who lives on the edge. he's made shareholders nervous while suffering body blows from mountain biking and surfing. he won a yacht race in sidney overcoming hurricane-strength winds that sank five competitors and drowned six participants. some have speculated he's the inspiration for the tony stark character in "the iron man" films, with ellison even making a cameo in the most recent sequel. ellison's passion for boating it now focused on the